La la la la la la la la ____ ______
I don't post publicly very often, but one country invaded another country, and it turns out this particular website is owned by the invading country. I figured it might be worthwhile to share a post from a friend of a friend, even if it's in English, to help raise awareness and give some concrete options for those who are unsure about what to do. In addition to her suggestions, I suggest following a certain capital city's Post, one of the few independent English language media sources out there. Here is what my friend's friend Oksana said in a post on Facebook.
This photo was taken on a frosty night of February 4th from an apartment where I live, in Obolon district of Kyiv*, in the north-east part of the city. I have lived in Kyiv since my college years, all of my adult life, but I’ve never lived in this district. I only moved in here a month ago, after returning from doing a Master’s program abroad.
Being away from Kyiv for more than a year, I looked forward to rediscovering it. It’s a vibrant city, with amazing architecture, incredible history, lots of parks and a huge river. Those who have come here or lived here will agree. To be fair, chaotic construction and “development” (meaning: skyscrapers growing all over the city and advertising jumping in your eyes) really spoiled the view lately, and there has been a growing protest movement around that. Something that’s familIar to many urban landscapes all over the world, I am sure. Capitalism doesn’t spare us, no matter where we are
And yet I was so happy to be back. I was especially grateful for this view - such an immense opening that is available to my eyes every morning and every night. It’s a rare find in a city of growing skyscrapers!
This also meant that I could watch gorgeous sunsets from this window whenever the skies were clear. And I got lucky a few times over the last month. Sunsets are my mediation, I love to catch them wherever I go. They make me think of endings and beginnings, of the continuity of life and it’s finite nature as well. Most of all, they make me stop and savour the moment, because colours at sunset change so fast - you can only enjoy them briefly!
When first alarming news about possible Russian invasion got into the press in early February, I started having a strange thought, almost a daydream: I felt that one day I may wake up and see tanks rolling down that road, right under my window. feared going to bed, imagining that I would miss that in my sleep. There was no logic behind it or any warfare analysis. I just knew I had a huge window looking out on a big roundabout. Having access to this view somehow made me feel free and vulnerable at the same time. I kept thinking about it every night when going to sleep.
Yesterday I woke up at 5:30 from a heavy sound of explosion, and rushed to the window right away. No tanks in sight. But then I checked the news and realized that the explosion was the beginning of war. Today I woke up in a bomb shelter, with no explosions to hear, but as I opened to read the news, the first thing I read was that tanks came to Obolon over night and that the Ukrainian army has pushed them away.
It’s like my daydream came to life. I had chills running down my back. Have I brought this on with my bad thoughts? I asked myself for a second. Of course I know I didn’t! But my mind still can’t reconcile with reality, and is coming up with such silly suggestions. I shrug it away immediately and think: how grateful I am that I was safe tonight. That I didn’t hear nor see those tanks. Of course, others did, I know that. That’s what’s so fucked up. It’s not a daydream anymore.
This inner dialogue reminded me slightly of a victim-blaming narrative, so present in gender-based violence: “it’s not my fault, she provoked me”. As someone who has worked with women for years and who has done feminist analysis of violence, I know this logic all too well. I know that there is nothing - and I mean NOTHING - that the victim does, which justifies violence. The responsibility is with the aggressor. We must get that clear.
Putin started his invasion with justifications of peacemaking in Ukraine. He was convinced that we need to be rescued from our maleficent government, “denazified”. This could not be further from the truth. Putin is a psychopath with imperial ambitions, and that’s the end of it. He invaded Ukraine in plain sight. He committed crimes which deserve The Hague tribunal. Don’t be fooled by Russian propaganda. This is no peacemaking in no textbooks ever.
Today beautiful Kyiv has been attacked multiple times, including strikes on civilian quarters. (I am sure you can find photos online, or in your media channels, I won’t post them here.) People made their way to the shelters at least 5 times, as soon as sirens went off. A baby was born in one of those shelters tonight! And another very heavy night is ahead, with predictions of heavy attacks. Most of the city is spending the night in shelters. Putin is after our capital city, that is clear. It’s also clear that he did not expect the response he got. I wish with all my guts that he fails. That he is tried for all his crimes and that none of this happens ever again.
I am far away from this room now. But I’ve never wanted to be back more. I’ve never wanted more to see the sunset from my window again.
To help that happen
1) demand closure of air space over Ukraine to protect our sky from Russian missiles
2) support our army, they are our frontline. You can donate by this link: https://cutt.ly/XPB3xIW...
3) check your media sources and do not believe Russian propaganda
4) for the (leftist) intellectuals - do your homework and re-read postcolonial theory. To get you started, see an article written by a local activist on why critique of NATO is not what we need, instead it’s critique of Russia: https://commons.com.ua/en/letter-western-left-kyiv/...
5) see my previous post for more steps on what Ukraine needs now.
*Please note once and for all - the spelling is KYIV (Ukrainian version), not KIEV (Russian version). Now this is meaningful as ever. Thank you.
